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Cana and the 'fifth gospel'
Did a UPS-sponsored excavation rediscover the site where early Christians believed Jesus turned water into wine? Excerpted from the 2004 Regester Lecture, presented by Professor of Religion Douglas R. Edwards. Archaeologists have long recognized the value of separating, layer by layer, the remnants of civilizations as a means to determine the distinctive character of each time in which the civilization operated. Is this Homer’s Troy ? Was this the wall surrounding Jericho at the time of the Israelite invasion? Are these the stables of Solomon? Is this ossuary (or burial box) that of James, brother of Jesus, son of Joseph? These quests often depend on particular and often narrow historical or cultural issues. Even if one could answer whether George Washington did sleep in the many places that claim him, what is the significance? Today, we time travelers to the past want to know how people lived, what they thought, how they constructed the world around them, how they used and transformed their space. Over the past two decades it has been my privilege to participate in a number of excavations in Israel , three of them within 10 kilometers of each other. They include: • the ancient city of Sepphoris, built in magnificent fashion by Herod Antipas, the Herod who, in the New Testament and the writings of the first century Jewish historian Josephus, beheads John the Baptist and rules Galilee during the adult life of Jesus; • the nearby site of Yodefat or ancient Jotapata, which was one of the first towns destroyed by the Romans during the Jewish revolt of 66-70 CE [CE is the period of time from the birth of Christ to the present; it replaces AD]. This amazing site, variously called the Masada of the North or the Pompeii of the Galilee , was never rebuilt and thus offers a rare glimpse into the workings of a first century Jewish village; • and the site that occupies my attention most, Khirbet Qana, literally, the “ruins of Cana .” I began excavations there in 1998 under the sponsorship of the University of Puget Sound , and I continue to this day. It offers a fascinating glimpse into patterns of society that illuminate the world of Galilee in the time of Jesus, what Ernst Renan has termed the “fifth Gospel.” Cana appears in the Gospel of John as the location of a wedding feast to which Jesus and his mother were invited. The party was apparently pretty lively, because they ran out of wine. For some reason Mary felt obliged to remedy the situation. So she asks Jesus what he can do about it. Jesus wonders why this is any of his business, but like a good son he goes to six stone vessels filled to the brim with water. He changes the water to wine, it’s delivered, and the reaction by the wedding guests is wonder that the hosts saved the best wine for last, since one normally serves the Gallo jugs when everyone is so drunk they don’t know they’re drinking lousy wine. The theological overtones are obvious throughout this story and not lost on later Christians. Jesus the real bridegroom provides the best wine (message) at the end of the day. Eucharistic overtones abound. In the 6th century CE a pilgrim from Piacenza , Italy , made the rounds of sites sacred to Christian memory. He recorded coming to the place where the Lord had changed water to wine. Of the water pots, two were still there, he said. He filled one with wine, lifted it on his shoulder, and offered it at the altar. He also placed himself on the very couch upon which he believed Jesus had reclined at the marriage feast and, memorializing his visit like countless pilgrims before and after, he carved the names of his mother and father into the bench. More than 1,000 years later, in the 1960s, two Franciscan priests traipsed across Kh. Qana, noting and recording the location of tombs, some of the 60-plus cisterns, and the large reservoir on the north side of the site. In their subsequent article they also mentioned finding a cave that appeared to have remains suggesting some sacred character. At the end of our first season in 1998, I thought I better try to locate this cave. On the last day, of course, I found it, hidden under a fig tree, next to where we had eaten second-breakfast every workday for five weeks. How ironic. Had we eaten over the cave traditionally associated with Jesus turning water to wine? In 1999 we began excavation of the cave. We quickly found that the cave was part of a complex of at least four interconnected caves. The main cave, Cave 1, was filled with debris, which had a number of Mamluk sherds (13th century CE and later). The current entrance to the cave was added later, perhaps when the cave was used as a storage area during the Mamluk period. An earlier entrance was blocked, as was a window, by a large number of stones on the outside rising more than three meters high. The blockage could have occurred because of a collapsed building (earthquake?) to the south or through intentional blockage. As we excavated, a fascinating picture began to unfold. We hit upon a cobblestone floor. The floor ran up to a complex directly opposite the doorway, the first thing that someone entering the now closed-off door would have seen. On the left was a large stone vessel, which was mortared into the plaster that covered the entire cave. We could also see the partial remains of another. There appeared space enough for six. You can imagine our excitement. But there was more. Also directly opposite the blocked entrance, the Franciscans thought they found a table or altar, having seen only the top 20 centimeters because of the fill. It turned out to be a re-used sarcophagus lid turned on its side. The sarcophagus lid was plastered together with the two stone vessels so that all were linked with the fine plaster that covered the entire cave. A beam hole exists directly above the center of the plastered structure and two beam holes are in the cave walls on either side, suggesting that some apparatus (perhaps a curtain) was built in association with the plastered altar and stone vessels. The re-used sarcophagus lid functioned as an altar, now turned on its end with the inside face exposed to visitors. The top edge of the lid is well worn and smooth, suggesting people placed their hands on top while praying or possibly dipping liquid from vessels in the bowls. The exposed or south face of the altar lid is plastered with several layers. We noted that the stone surface of the lid facing worshippers showed evidence of carving below the plaster. Removal of some of the plaster revealed a chiseled maltese style cross (probably one of three). While excavating behind the sarcophagus lid in a small area created by the lid and the cave wall to its north, two pieces of imported marble were found. Both had carvings. The smaller contained two possible Greek letters. Both pieces had been decorated with gold leaf. The thinner piece with acanthus leaf also had remains of plaster, suggesting that it was part of a marble paneled wall. The other piece was thicker and may have been part of a chancel screen or altar. Both belonged to an extremely ornate structure, a building or shrine. Gold leaf on marble in this period is rare and to my knowledge no parallels exist in Israel or surrounding areas. Found also in what appeared to be fill from the Crusader period, was a large piece of round clear window glass, suggesting that these features may have been viewed as relics of an earlier edifice. At least five and possibly six layers of plaster decorated the walls of the cave. One layer has three or four very thin coatings (probably the result of periodic whitewashing) with graffiti and crosses drawn on. The plaster appears to be the same as the plaster that holds the stone vessels in place. Greek writing is clearly evident on the plaster. It is clear that more graffiti exists under the later plastering. Apparently, the pilgrim from Piacenza had lots of company. With the evidence of the stone vessels, the possible relics, the altar, and the graffiti, along with maps and pilgrim references, I had and have every confidence that we had found medieval Cana , the site pilgrims visited, believing it to be the place where Jesus changed water to wine. It only remained to excavate through the floor and carbon-date some of the plaster to confirm the dates. Were we surprised. Excavation through the cobble floor to bedrock revealed three separate layers demarcated by lime plaster surfaces. The lowest floor consisted of a limestone makeup. Carbon 14 dating placed its construction between 425-556 CE. More surprising, the mortar underlying the wall and altar plaster, which also was linked to the stone vessel dated between 415-654 CE. That placed the first use of the cave as a Christian pilgrim site to the 5th/6th century CE, 500 years earlier than we had thought. Sometime later, this level was covered with stones and dirt with a heavy limestone floor poured over the top. The limestone surface contained organic material that dated between 658-801 CE. The cave’s use during that period is unclear. Renovation of the cave occurred in the Crusader period. A bench was added on the west side that carbon dates between 984-1160 CE. Additional fill was added to the previous surface as well as a re-plastering of the cave itself. This plaster dates between 1024-1217. This coincides perfectly with medieval pilgrim accounts. In this last major phase of use, the cave served again as a pilgrim site. Stairs next to the altar lead to a second cave, Cave 2. They were founded in the first phase of the “pilgrim” complex, 5th/6th century, and then appear to have been built up in later periods. It connects to a third cave, which has a second blocked entrance leading from the east. There is a circular opening in the roof of Cave 3, now blocked by what appear to be large marble fragments, where ceramic vessels may have been lowered, perhaps as part of a storage facility in its original use. The pilgrim of Piacenza ’s remark that he celebrated by reclining as at a feast, raises an intriguing possibility for these caves. In Byzantine fill under the second floor was found a griffin covered in gold leaf. It was part of some ornate piece of furniture, as the remnants of a spike on the back indicate. Could this have been part of elaborate furniture associated with the feast? Cave 1 is probably too small for this. But Caves 2 and 3, as yet unexcavated, have more than two meters of debris. Could they be hiding the banquet hall? What about the “Church of the Master of the Feast” mentioned by pilgrims? We have a couple of clues. 65 meters south of this pilgrim cave complex, we found a vaulted water storage area. It was next to remains of a large, destroyed vaulted wall. The storage area dates to the Crusader period. Could this be the location of the monastery or church associated with the marriage feast? Or is the whole area around the cave the complex? Only further excavation can tell us for sure. What we have, then, is a sacred shrine of some importance. The gilded marble suggests that worshippers were to see the “blaze” of divine glory in the site. Gold in the Byzantine period was ubiquitous in shrines, churches, and other places of veneration. The 5th and 6th centuries brought dramatic changes across the Holy Land . Even moderate size villages could sport elaborate churches with imported marble and exquisite mosaic floors. The character of the cave with its graffiti and stone vessels, the excellence of the plaster, the reused sarcophagus lid, and the remnants of glass and marble indicate that this was a place of religious importance and veneration. In the 5th/6th century CE this shrine was built on the southern slope of Kh. Qana, a memorial for those who believed that this was the Cana where Jesus, at a wedding feast, performed the miracle of changing water to wine. The tradition was renewed when Crusaders transformed the space once again. |
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